November 30, 1939 Winter War begins! Soviet forces invade Finland. Helsinki and Viipuri are bombed. The Finnish army can only muster about 150,000 men in 9 divisions, with a tenth being formed. There are also a number of smaller independent units but their reserves of manpower are small. They have little heavy equipment and virtually no tanks. They are handicapped here in having relied on their limited domestic arms production since late 1938 in their attempt to confirm their neutrality. There is an ammunition shortage. The air force has about 100 obsolete planes. These weaknesses are partly offset by the training and moral of the Finnish troops. There are also some fairly strong fortifications in this area but the system is by no means comprehensive. Field Marshal Mannerheim (aged 72) is appointed Defender of Finland and Commander-in-Chief. At the start of the invasion, the Soviets employ 26 divisions (not all at full strength), in four armies. Soviet divisions are larger, with artillery components three times as strong as their Finnish equivalents and accompanied by more tanks than the entire Finnish army possesses. Independent tank and artillery units provide additional support. The Soviet 7th Army, the strongest with 12 divisions, attacks the 5 Finnish divisions defending the Karelian Isthmus. The Soviet 8th Army advances in the area immediately north of Lake Ladoga, the Soviet 9th Army attacks from Soviet Karelia in the direction of the head of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Soviet 14th Army moves out from Murmansk in the far north. The strength of the Soviet forces is greater than expected by the Finns. However, the Soviets are not well prepared for winter conditions and the coordination between their infantry and other arms is not at all good. Their preparations have been rushed.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 14:23:00 +0000
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